Tesoro’s 2017 Historic Lecture Series (Cont.)

Each year, our historic lecture series features the finest humanities scholars, historians and authors in the field of Western American history. The lecture series cultivates a new appreciation for diverse cultures that shaped our current landscape. From Apache wars to The Fort’s own ghost stories, 19th century American Western history comes alive through each lecture.

Dinner lectures at The Fort Restaurant include a special prix fixe menu, featuring The Fort’s famous salad, award winning guacamole, entrée and dessert*. All proceeds from the dinner lectures are donated to Tesoro Cultural Center’s educational and cultural programs.

*Menus are subject to change. Vegetarian options are available. Check website for the most up-to-date menu.

Eyewitness to the Fetterman Fight: Indian Views

Tensions between the U.S. government and American Indians started to rise in 1863, as a result of the Bozeman Trail – a new route for emigrants traveling to the Montana gold fields that passed directly through hunting grounds of American Indian territory. In an effort to protect these emigrants, the U.S. government built forts along the trail; the largest of these being Fort Phil Kearney, in north-central Wyoming.

On December 21, 1866, a group of more than 2,000 American Indians banded together to lure the U.S. army into a deadly ambush, which would later be known as the Fettermen Fight. The American Indians annihilated all 81 soldiers under Captain William Fettermen, the captain himself included. With no survivors on the U.S. side, the only eyewitness accounts of the battle came from those fighting on behalf of the Lakota and Cheyenne.

John H. Monnett, an award-winning author and professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver, will join us to lecture on the crushing victory as told by the American Indians, while focusing on his book, Eyewitness to the Fetterman Fight: Indian Views.

Fort Jackson is a relatively mysterious trading post, as its exact location is unknown and many details of the fort have been lost. It is believed to have been several miles south of the present-day Platteville, Colo. The valley of the South Platte River would have made this location an ideal trading post, as it’s located in the middle of Fort Laramie and Bent’s Old Fort and had an abundance of food resources that drew large populations of American Indians to the area.

On December 2, 1837, a trading party under James C. Robertson left Fort Jackson and set out to trade along the Arkansas River. Outfitting trading parties to travel directly to American Indian hunting camps and villages wasn’t uncommon at the time, and it’s likely that the purpose of this party was to trade with the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians, as they favored this location during the winter. While many of Robertson’s trading party details are unknown, the inventory of trade goods with costs have been preserved.

Michael Shaubs will join us for a lecture to discuss typical trading protocols, distribution of goods and what Robertson’s trading party tells us about the American Indian as a consumer.

The Fort’s famous salad, served with crisp mixed greens, jicama, toasted pepitas and pickled ginger

— Third course —

Buffalo tenderloin steak and grilled teriyaki quail served with The Fort’s famous potatoes and seasonal vegetables

— Fourth course —

Bobbie Chaim’s famous cheesecake served with Montana huckleberries

Purchase dinner lecture tickets by visiting http://bit.ly/2wlSKnS.

George Bent: Man of Many Worlds

George Bent, a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War, was born to a prominent white trader, William Bent, and his Cheyenne wife, Owl-Women. Because of his mixed-race, he was referred to as a “half-breed” member of society and was often an outsider to both the Cheyenne and European-American cultures he was a part of. Nonetheless, Bent became a prominent and important person because he was bilingual and understood both American and American Indian cultures.

His life was full of adventure, misfortune, accomplishments and failures, which John Steinle will explore in depth during this lecture.

In this lecture, Dr. Anne Hyde, a Colorado College history professor, recipient of the Bancroft Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, dives deeper into the intimate and often not discussed result of the fur trade – the mixed race families. The children of unions between European and Native Americans embraced both heritages, and for the next two hundred years, these mixed families quietly engaged in peaceful relations. Just how this alternative story of race relations emerged, what sustained it, who destroyed it and why, makes George Bent’s story one that will break your heart.

William Henry Ellis was born into slavery on a southern Texas plantation. From birth, odds were against him, but with the unlikely combination of determination, the ability to speak Spanish and dark olive skin, Ellis reinvented himself. By the turn of the 20th century, he changed his name to Guillermo Enrique Eliseo and was a successful entrepreneur on Wall Street.

Dr. Karl Jacoby joins us for a lecture featuring his book, The Strange Career of William Ellis, a story that reminds the audience that race is ultimately a fiction we tell ourselves to divide people. Jacoby will explore fresh insights on the history of the Reconstruction era, the U.S. and Mexican border and the abiding riddle of race.

When: Saturday, April 7 at 4 p.m.Where: The Lone Tree Hub

Lecture is free to the public.

Sunday, April 8 at 2 p.m.Where: Denver Central Library (5th Floor)

Lecture is free to the public.

When: Sunday, April 8 at 6 p.m.Where: The Fort Restaurant

— First course —

Award-winning Fort guacamole, salsa fresca and chips

— Second course —

The Fort’s famous salad, served with crisp mixed greens, jicama, toasted pepitas and pickled ginger

Leaving the Comfort Zone: Mountain Men and the Trappings of a Wilderness Lifestyle

Sarah Pickman, a Yale Doctoral Student, presents our last lecture of the year and explores the changing ideas of what it means to “live comfortably.”

Sarah studies the history of exploration, field collecting, natural history museums and anthropology with a special interest in the material culture of expeditions.

Utilizing mountain men as discussion starting points, she will bring to light the physical hardships and isolation they endured while working as trappers, traders and pathbreakers across the old West. Yet, by the late nineteenth century, a host of new goods and activities allowed urban Americans to enjoy a taste of the mountain man lifestyle within new middle-class norms around “comfort.” Pickman queries what this all means in her informative and creative lecture.